Lighting appliance



Aug. 18, 1959 F. BOSS! LIGHTING APPLIANCE Filed Feb. 21, 1958 INVENTOR-FuL.v \O BOSSA Wavy/2- ATTORNEYS ilnited States LIGHTING APPLIANCEApplication February 21, 1958, Serial No. 716,783

1 Claim. (Cl. 240-) This invention relates to lighting appliances, moreparticularly of the type referred to as Christmas tree appliancesalthough it is not specifically limited thereto.

It is an object of this invention to provide an inexpensive, safe andefficient mounting of small lamps or bulbs which are usually connectedin series along a conductor to form a chain-like arrangement.

Another object of the invention is to enable the provision of ornamentalelements such as corolliform bodies to be fixedly mounted in connectionwith the bulbs.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an insulatingnon-conductive protection for the entire part of the electricalconnection of the bulbs with the conductors, thereby preventing andeliminating the possibility of electrical shock.

Other and further objects of my invention reside in the structures andarrangements hereinafter more fully described with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation in section of a lighting applianceconstructed in accordance with the teaching of the invention.

Fig. 2 is an expanded view of the arrangement shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view of the insulating cap taken in the direction of lines3-3 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a top view of the corolliforrn cup as seen in Fig. 2 and takenalong lines 44 thereof.

Referring now to the drawings and, more particularly, Figs. 1 and 2thereof, there is shown a miniature baseless light bulb 10. The bulb 10includes a filament structure 12 having the ends 14 and :16 thereofextending beyond the bottom of the bulb. The bulb 10 is completelyenclosed to create a proper lighting chamber in which the filament 12can operate. 7

An electrical circuit is closed to the filament of the bulb 10 byelectrical conductor means comprising a pair of wires 18 and 20. Thewire means 20 is adapted to be wound together with or otherwise securelyconnected to one end 14 and to the other end 16 of the filament 12 ofeach one of a plurality of light bulbs 10, in series or in serialarrangement. The wire conductor 20 thus connecting each of the filaments12 of each one of a plurality of baseless miniature light bulbs 10,serves as one part of an electrical circuit that is to be closed to theplurality of bulbs. The conductor line 18 serves as the return circuitbetween the source of electrical energy and the serially connected bulbs10. Line 18 is thus suitably secured to the series line 20 at the end ofthe lighting system.

The ends 14 and 16 of the filament 12, connected with the series line orconductor 20, are insulated by the use of a non-conductive cap generallyindentified by the numeral 22. Cap 22 has an elongated body that may bemade of any non-conductive insulating or dielectric material. It may beformed circular in outer configuration or of any other desired shape andincludes a set of spaced conduits or openings 2.4 and 26 through whichpass the 2 series wire or conductor 20. The spaced insulating conduits24 and 26 provide a shield for the series conductor 20 thatis connectedto the opposite ends 14 and 16 of the bulb filament; 12.

This simple arrangementof structure permits the insertion of the bareends 28 and 30 of the conductor 20 of the conductor 20 into theconduits26 and 24 respectively and'beyond the upper ends thereof for secureconnection with the respective ends 14 and 16 of the filament 12. Afterthe series conductor 20 is secured to the filament lines 14 and 16 inthe manner shown in Fig. l, the insulating cap 22 is moved upwardly tocover the bare connection between the series conductor 20 and thefilament ends 14 and 16 connected therewith. The cap 22 thereby servesas a secure, safe and efficient insulating covering for the bareconnection between the bulb 10 and the electrical conductor wires 18 and20.

However, in order to assure the proper insulation of the bare ends ofthe filament connected with the series conductor 20, the cap 22 isprovided with an expanded seat 32 that is concave and rounded to theapproximate contour of the bottom of the miniature baseless bulb 10. Theseat 32 therefore provides a coinciding abutment for the bottom of thebase 10 and may be thought of as a base therefor. Seat 32 hence isadapted to receive the bottom of the bulb 10 and to mount the samecorrectly in position while serving as a non-conductive insulatingcovering for the joint serially connected filament ends. The conduits 24and 26 further prevent undue bending of the filament wires when the bulb10 is thus in abutting seating relationship with the seat 3-2 of the cap22.

In order to retain the cap 22 in this abutting seating relationship withthe bottom of the bulb :10, the wires 18 and 20 are wound together inthe manner shown in Fig. 1 whereby the leading ends 28 and 30 of theseries conductor 20 are substantially at right angles to the conduits ofthe cap 22. The tighter the conductors 18 and 20- are wound together,the tighter will be the abutting relationship between the seat 3-2 ofthe cap 22 and the bottom of the bulb 10. Hence, the simple interwindingof the electrical conductors 18 and 20 will serve to retain the cap 22in insulating position about the connected ends of the filament 12 ofthe bulb 10 and thereby provide a secure and proper insulation for thesame.

The cap 22 is expanded at the upper end 34 thereof to form a seatingcollar 36 against which an ornamental member 38 may be mounted. In theinstant invention, the ornamental member 38 is cup-shaped orcorolliformed. The ornamental member 38 is provided with a centralopening 40 through which the elongated body of the cap 22 may bereceived. The cup-shaped corolliform member 38 thus is moved upwardlyinto secure wedging engagement with the collar 36 and is retainedthereagainst to provide a petal-like appearance. It is to be recognized,however, that the shape of the member 36 may be varied in accordancewith any desired design. The use of such a member is therefore optional.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out thefundamental novelfeatures of the invention as applied to a preferredembodiment thereof, it will be understood that various omissions andsubstitutions and changes in the form and details of the deviceillustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in theart, without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is theintention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope ofthe claim appended hereto.

I claim:

A lighting appliance comprising in combination, a plurality of baselessminiature bulbs, each having a rounded bottom and containing a filament,the ends of said filament extending through and beyond the bottom of thebulb in spaced relation, a plurality of cylindrical non-conductivemembers eachihaving a pair of spaced bores therethrough, and each ofsaid members having a cup shaped seat adapted to receive the bottom of arounded bulb and an annular outwardly flared rim, a .wire conductorextended intojeachvbore, each end of each filament being wound'aroundsaid conductor extending into each bore to establish electrical contacttherewith, an electrical conductor connected in an electrical circuitwith said first mentioned wire conductor and twisted thereabout toretain said non-conductive members in abutting relation with the bottomsof said bulbs, and a corolliform ornamental and reflecting bodysurrounding each non-con- 4 ductive member and seating against saidoutwardly flared References Cited in the file of this patent UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 1,286,514 Bobe Dec. 3, 1918 1,725,048 Black Aug. 20, 19292,079,801 Grant May 11, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS 558,874 Germany Sept. 14,1932 484,968 Canada July 15, 1952

